Good evening. My name is Rob Lipsett. I am a beef producer from Grey County, Ontario, and the president of the Beef Farmers of Ontario. Joining me tonight is BFO's executive director, Richard Horne.
Like our colleagues from the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, we strongly believe that if the current challenges are strategically addressed, the beef sector will emerge as a key recovery sector post-COVID-19. But time is running out.
Our sector has faced a number of serious challenges in the last couple of years that have limited our growth potential and hurt our financial viability, the largest being the lack of sufficient processing capacity and the market price volatility. COVID-19 has significantly amplified these challenges and has placed our farm operations at a critical tipping point in the face of real threats to family beef farms like mine and to the security of the food supply chain.
The losses beef farmers are experiencing, particularly within the feedlot sector, are simply staggering, mirroring those we experienced during the BSE mad cow crisis of the early 2000s: Farm gate prices have plunged, despite increases in wholesale beef prices; corn distillers, one of the main feed ingredients that producers in Ontario use to feed cattle, have doubled in price since March 1; and per-head losses have averaged around $300 per animal during COVID, despite the fact that eastern Canada has largely maintained its processing production.
Before Richard speaks to our recommendations, I want to share part of a story an Ontario beef producer sent me regarding the impacts COVID-19 has had on their farm:
We try to sell cattle to the processors every week but currently we have had a load of cattle listed for sale for more than 3 weeks with no bids because the processors are backed up.
When cattle are fed past the date when they should have been harvested, they lose efficiency and this costs us extra money to feed them. When this happens, we incur weight discounts at processing between 15-35 cents per pound.
Each month I have to do a statement of inventory for my banker. Since March 1st we have lost $245 per head. Through the BSE years government did an excellent job of supporting farmers and that is likely the number one reason I’m still farming today.
Production on my farm helps feed approximately 32,000 Canadians per year, and my operation deals with over 100 suppliers and support companies annually. We can’t wait much longer for support from our governments.
Ladies and gentlemen, we need help. Beef farmers need immediate financial support—direct support. Our farmers cannot borrow their way out of this. The current funding announced through the CERB, wage subsidies, loan programs and others is almost entirely unusable by our farmers.
I'll now turn it over to Richard Horne.